Orca Council's
Teen Outreach Program, under the
direction of Mary Grant, advocates with service
providers on the behalf of homeless youth.

Outreach services are one-on-one, free of charge and
highly individualized. They may be as simple as opening Camp Fire’s Teen
Clothing Closet for a youth to choose teen-appropriate clothing, or as
complex as helping a 13-year old experience a healthy pregnancy, find
daycare for her child, and re-enroll in school.

March 2014.

The program
is growing! The Teen Outreach Program is expanding its services to
include evening drop-in hours a few nights a week at our new WoHeLo
Center – just next door in suite #2! Some great volunteers came in to
tear out the carpet and put a fresh coat of paint on the walls. More
updates over the next few months – stay tuned!

Ms. Grant is a member of
the Tacoma Gang Project
Community Steering Committee. Contact the program via e-mail at
mgrant@campfireorca.org.

Camp
Fire's Teen Outreach Program
was awarded funding by the Youth
Philanthropy Board, a program started by the Greater Tacoma Community
Foundation to give young people a voice in the
programs that directly impact their lives. The Tacoma Weekly. October
20, 2011.

“When I was living on the street and moving around from
place to place, I was cold, dirty, hungry and angry. My whole body hurt
because it was so cold, and there was nothing I could do to get warm. At
15 years old, I should not have had to live like this. In the past few
months, I have learned that there are people that care about me, even if
they don’t know me." —Stephen,
Puyallup

The Problem of Runaway Parents

A common view of homeless or at-risk teens is that they are belligerent,
out-of-control youth who defy parental rules and run away from home.

In
fact, it is often the parents who have “runaway” from their children,
either literally or figuratively. These youth are often
unaware of the
resources available to them and/or lack the skills to access
them.
A 2002 University of Nebraska survey indicates that:

63% of “homeless youth” report
having been physically and/or sexually abused prior
to leaving home

85% report that one or both
parents are addicted to alcohol and/or other drugs.